Today I made fried green tomato's for din-din. I have to admit they were quite yummy. Although I strayed away from the recipe because I did not have any saltines, I used cheese crackers instead. I think that may be why they were so good. Catcher loved them too, he was running around the living room holding two slices chasing Potato and Vito. It was really funny. Earlier in the day, C & I went into Manhattan to see Jon (now that we aren't working on Sat). We walked around the market, bought some veggies & juice, played at the playground, went to PetCo, and then walked to Housing Works, (this bad ass thrift store in Gramercy). It was the first time being in the city that I actually felt like a family. Usually our time is never spent doing mundane errands because we have so little of it together. We always plan out time and do some kind of activity. I really enjoyed our day. I hope that on our Saturday's we may be able to do the same thing. It really changes my outlook on the week to come. Plus it helps me get thru the downer days (Thurs-Sun when Jon is at work 15 hrs/day).

I am so exhausted today, I just can't seem to get going and it is already 8 o'clock at night. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the pie, who knows? All I know is that I am going to get my fuzzy Burberry blankie and veg out with the dogs. I have Grey's Anatomy on Tivo and I am ready to watch McDreamy for an hour. Hopefully my love will come home early and Potato won't crowd the bed. Ahh to dream...

Apple Pie Made by ME (from scratch) and it's not that bad.

I chopped off all my hair yesterday. I have been wanting to do this for awhile and I always said I would if I was pregnant again (I'm not). I guess I just got sick of growing it out, which really makes no sense because now it is going to take me even longer. When I got home, Jon didn't give the reaction I was looking for so I went to Duane Reade and got myself some fire engine red dye. Well that didn't turn out well. It was bright fucking red with a purple tint. I looked like I just walked out of 1992. So this morning I striped my hair, which hurts alot, then I dyed it dark blond. I always freak out with my hair when I have body issues, which I am currently having. I have gained a bunch of weight and I need to start running or doing yoga. I am just so lazy about working out, I never used to be. Anyways I am officially a fat ass and something has gotta be done. Maybe today I'll go running, I mean I do have a $700 glorified jogging stroller. I should use it for what it's meant to be used for.
In other news, Jon's dad was in Brooklyn last night and he took us out for din-din at our favorite pizza joint Franny's. Awesome. If you are ever in the Park Slope area you MUST go. Here are some great pics of the boy and my hubs.

Yesterday the family and I went upstate to Minneswaka State Park and Lake. It was amazing and a much needed break from the chaos of NYC. As we entered the park there was this huge sign proclaiming 'DO NOT PICK THE MUSHROOMS, Protected by NY State Environmental Fund.' That was enough for Jon. He was the happiest I have seen him in ages. As we hiked the trail he found many different species? of shrooms. He found one that he became obsessed about called the 'Hen of the Woods.' It is the first mushroom picture on this post, apparently it is worth like $20 /lb. I took pictures of all the mushrooms we saw because I knew my love would appreciate it, especially since I can't stand mushrooms, even the crazy ones. We had a great time and the park was so awesome. Check out Catcher Crazy Face for pics of our apple picking and pumpking picking after the hike.

Two things I love:Mr. Catcher
New York City in Autumn

My way too fabulous husband was on the news yesterday, well kind of, he was a bit in the shadows but you could make him out. Good for him. He deserves so much more. He is an amazing man, father, hubs, and chef, and I super duper love the jerk. Anywho, here are some stills and check out the video HERE.

Celeb Oddities

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When I was single and lived in NYC pre-baby, I used to take Vito to Tompkins Square Park. On one of these occasions I happened to sit down next to a man who had a starring role in a popular horror flick. I always thought he was hot but when he started talking to me I kind of thought he may be a heroin addict. After at least ten minutes of chatting he asked me if I wanted to hang out. At this point I was pretty heavily 'involved' with Jonathon. I said sure, got his digits, gave him mine, and said I would call. Well I never called. He called twice and left me a message and I didn't call back. Although Jon and I weren't officially in a relationship, we were definitely doing things that people in relationships do. The whole point of this blubber: I just turned on the tube and whose face do I say starring in his new show. That's right, Mr. Tompkins Square Dog Park Guy, looking damn good. Who knows what would've happened had I not been in the process of falling in love with Jon. I maybe the wife of a TV actor who repeatedly gets cheated on or I may have started dating him and picked up an H habit. J/K!

I think it is pretty safe to assume that I am getting into the groove of living in NYC. It has definitely been a tough transition and I really wouldn't wish it on anyone with a young child but I have been feeling like Amelia again. What the hell does that mean, you ask? I shall tell...
I have always considered myself pretty independent of everything and anyone. I was not that girl who always had to have a man holding her up. I did my own thing and always liked being by myself. Well that entire description of myself drastically started to change after I had the baby. Totally normal, you feel dependent on the family that you have just created with the man you love. So the first year of Catcher's life I let my independence go, I gave it all up. I basically wrapped it in a box and handed it over to Jon. Since we moved to NYC that independence I used to have stamped on my forehead had almost completely disappeared. When Jon went to work, I was sad. When he came home, I was upset & depressed for being home alone all day. When he had a day off I would start fights just because I blamed him for my lack of gusto. Anyways, I now, after 5 months of hell & back, know that it was for the most part my issue. I became a scared woman staying at home with her young baby unable to make friends or venture out onto the scary streets of New York. Well that bitch is gone. I am done being scared of my new environment. I am going to embrace it and fall in love with New York all over again. I am going to accept the fact that I married someone who is going to work the most ridiculous hours for at least the next ten years. I am going to tell him everyday that even though he is not home I still love him and am thankful of the time I get with him. I am woman, hear me moth*%F@*ckin ROAR. P.S. This is my crazy boy, Hef, standing on my coffee table. What a pimp.

If you have children and live in NYC you figure out which restaurants are child-friendly mainly by the hi-chair method. If a restaurant has hi-chairs, they are usually pretty cool about child diners. However that rule does not always apply. For example, yesterday, we (hubs, baby, & myself) went into Manhattan to put some of our stuff in storage. After we did that we thought we would peruse on down to the village grab a bite and maybe do a little shopping. After an hour and a half of UN traffic we made it to Bleeker Street. We stopped at five different restaurants all to find that they did not have hi-chairs. Finally Jon saw a restaurant called AOC, that he had apparently always wanted to eat at. We went in, they had hi-chairs, we sat down. As soon as this occurred we began to get the silent treatment from the server/manager/host. He was French, so we attributed his attitude to that. However we noticed that he was unbelievably ecstatic talking to every other customer around us. Now Catcher is pretty damn good in restaurants plus he is hella cute and flirts with any lady in sight. He was cool yesterday however the restaurant was not. We were basically treated like we had the plague. Our s/m/h talked down to me at every chance he got and when the bill came and I handed him my card, he used it to underline 'Amex Only.' Can you say asshole? The whole point being, DON'T have hi-chairs unless you are going to treat families the same way you treat the casual urban hipster or suit. Don't ignore us and not give us bread. Don't smile at everyone else in the restaurant and do not talk to me like I am an uneducated freak.

I am in love with Grey's Anatomy.

My love bought me this bad ass Canon Digital Camera (Power Shot S215) for a wedding present. I have just been messing around with it trying to figure out what all the different features are. Today we all went to the restaurant to work and I just snapped away. In all of the 147 pics I took I thought these were either the cream of the crop. The one with the sunflowers is actually kind of creepy, but I love the one of the two boys walking down the street. Now that's priceless...

We are back in the city after a month long whirlwind of activities. The wedding went off without a hitch (well there were a couple). The ceremony was great and crazy, the homily had a theme of 'sex & food.' Apparently when you have a baby with a chef out of wedlock sex & food must be all you know. The cocktail hour and reception were a blast, barely remember talking to anyone, couldn't drag my ass off the dance floor. Apparently there were a couple scuffles, but that is bound to happen with a group of 150 drinkers. I guess the crazy shit went down at the hotel late night. Jon & I were fast asleep in our suite, but I guess a couple went ape shit on each other and the feds showed up. My cousins saw it but couldn't really remember what went down due to their highly intoxicated states. The next morn, Jon & I awoke at 6am and headed back to the Hale Farm, the most beautiful reception site ever. We took all the left over liquor and headed back to get ready for our honeymoon. After a day of mass chaos we headed to the airport to catch our first flight to Newark. The flight really fucked us. At some point somehow my wallet disappeared. It may have fallen out of my purse inflight who knows. Long story short it had $1000 cash in it. We never had a chance to get travelers checks. So basically the first night of our honeymoon turned out to be shit. We spent all night trying to call the airport & continental & eventually we got a call from some random airport security guard who had my wallet minus the $. Not a great start but it all worked out. We had our credit cards and Jon's parents wired us some dough. We went to sleep and woke up ready for our flights to St. Bart's. After two flights of pure terror lasting 6 hours we arrived on the beautiful isle of St. Barthalemey. Our caretakers met us at the tiny landing strip and brought us to our amazing villa. I am not going to go into that many details as the week was only for us, but let's just say that an amazing and decadent time was had lounging by the pool, swimming in the vast ocean, sleeping on the sand, eating French cheese and hard bread, drinking absinthe, and getting some loving. I enjoyed every moment of everyday we had. I saw the passion that Jon has for food that I haven't seen in a long time. He is such an amazing chef and he has so much talent. I think I am scared that he isn't using it all on a daily basis. I think what I just said is the main issue I have with us in New York. When he was just a lonely ole' sous chef he has so much excitement in his eyes whenever he spoke of a new dish. Now he doesn't even bring up the new dishes. I don't even know when the menu changes. I wonder if that's because our relationship is not as new or if he just doesn't give a f*ck about it. Who knows. Anyway, we had a fun and fabulous time and now we are back in Brooklyn and it is rainy and yucky and dreary. My chef husband has been influenced by our holiday and has decided to make his daily schedule imitate the European schedule (9-12, siesta, 4-12). Today he tried it and didn't exactly make it. He left at 9, came back at 2.30 and then left a 4. I think I would rather have him all morning.

I am probably going to take some time off from Chef's Widow. Jonathon and I are getting married in a week and then we are off to St. Bart's for our honeymoon. So super excited, I feel like I haven't been alone with him in 2 years. He had a great write up in the NY Daily News yesterday, you can read it here. He is is amazing and deserves every bit if not more press. Anyways, as I said I am going to take a break from Chef's Widow as well as CatcherCrazyFace. Much love. Be back Sept 12, maybe sooner if I freak out.

Well, the boy & I finally made it back to Cleveland. Sorry about the delay but the drive took its toll on me & I really needed to chill out for a few days. It's nice to be home although chaos is about to happen because my parent's decided that they wanted an exchange student from Poland (who doesn't speak English) to come live with them for four months. I think we may start staying at Amanda's house or even Jon's parents houe. Jon has been pretty non exsistent in my life, I have barely talked to him since I left, plus we are having issues about this bachelor party & the involvement of strippers. I think it is ridiculous and he says it is tradition. I think that it is the most awful tradition ever. I just don't understand. Here you are getting married but two days before you are letting some other b*$tch put her body all over yours. I am pretty sure Jon would not want me to have some guy all over me. Plus strip clubs are sooo seedy, I know I used to hang out at them in college. My friend worked there and my roomate and I used to go get drunk for free there. Anyways I am rambling...The whole point is Jon is being retarded. Plus when I let him got to Vegas last year when I was pregnant for a bachelor party we agreed that there would be no strippers. Way to stick to that agreement, guy!

In other chef's widow news, Jon's restaurant was in the New York Post on Page Six for having Tom Hanks hang there. You know you have made it when Forrest Gump eats in your restaurant.

Last night while waiting for Chef to come home, I turned on my substitute hubby. I happened to find the MTV movie awards from June. Since I did not see it when it originally aired I decided to watch it. The first thing I noticed were all the up close shots of Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. I thought I noticed a chemistry but how can you ever tell on tv. Soon enough it was confirmed. Kate, Matt Dillon, & Owen stepped on stage to present an award. Immediatley I knew the reason of the freshly announced divorce of Hudson & her hubby of 6 years, Chris Robinson and his name is Owen Wilson. It makes sense right? Kate & Owen are both stoners. Well my pyschic sense did me well because this morning I awoke and checked my faveorite blog Perez Hilton.
Sure enough this was the first thing I saw. I should work on Entertainment Tonight.

Well the past couple of days have been going ok. Catcher started walking full time and is being possibly the cutest baby I have ever seen. He walks like Frankenstein's monster. He also has to hold objects while he is walking, I guess it balances him. Who knows? I was on the lemon cleanse but went off it on the third day. I lost 6 pounds and I do feel good however I just can't not eat anymore. I need food. I am just going to stick to a strict chicken salad only diet until the wedding. Speaking of, the wedding is coming along pretty smoothly. I am headed back to Cleveland tomorrow in a rented SUV with the dogs and the babe. 8 hours of hell to look forward too. When I do arrive in C-town, I have meetings galore regarding the wedding. Friday I have to meet with the priest, who is not happy with myself or my husband. He is Jon's childhood priest and we were supposed do all this preliminary stuff (which we didn't) before the big day. When we moved he told us to join a church (haven't yet, but I walk by one everyday), take a marriage class (yep, that's a no-go), and keep in touch (my husband doesn't return phone calls). So this meeting should be super fun. On Monday I have a meeting with my DJ (who I dislike). He is a pompous ass who thinks he knows ALL music. When I told him our wedding song 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley, he told me he would need a CD. I have meticulously typed a music outline. I don't want him sneaking in any Ashlee Simpson, if you know what I mean.
During this crazy week of lemon cleansing and walking I managed to somewhat complete a painting that I started on at least 8 months ago. I think I like it, it is unlike any of my other work. Let me know what you think.

I have had a crap day. The lemon cleanse is not my friend. All my brain can handle is this quiz. Be back tomorrow.

What is your favorite pen color? Black felt tip

What time were you born? 6.37 a.m

Do you know how to change a flat tire? No, I have AAA

Who taught you how to make meatloaf? No one. I have no idea how to make it.

How much was gas when you began driving? $.97/gal, took me $10 to fill up my ultima

What is the funniest thing a kid has ever said to you? My son has said some pretty crazy shiz-nit to me in Mandarin Chinese.


How many junk drawers are in your house? 2

Do you know what Dippity-Do is? Cheap cancer causing hair gel.

Would you ask a complete stranger if you had food in your teeth? Yes.... I have

Do you bite your nails/fingers/lips? My husband

How many jars of pickles in your fridge and/or pantry? Two

Toy you'd like to have back from your childhood: Popples, JEM. Glowworm,Jam Ball

What's the last concert you went to? The White Stripes or NIN, can't remember which was the last.

Is your Christmas tree still up? No, I never put it up.

Have you ever eaten paste or glue? No

It's been a crap day. The lemon cleanse is making me crazy but I have lost 5 pounds. This quiz is using all my brain power, I got nothing today.



How long since you went to the Dentist? About 11 months

Ever been on jury duty? No, thank god.

What is your favorite kind of hat? I like all hats, I am a hat chick. Right now I am into my houndstooth pageboy hat.

Are you a good speller? The best

What is the last thing you dressed up as for Halloween? Carrie, blood and all

Whose wedding did you go to last? Michael & Kari

And finally... Last time the top of your refrigerator was cleaned off? After the kitchen fire, so about a month ago.

I am on the lemon cleanse which may explain my craziness, bitchiness, and all around evilness. The lemon cleanse is not fun. It is actually painful and it makes me lash out. I am hungry and I want food but I refuse to be a fat ass for my wedding. My husband is going to have deal with my mood. It sucks that he is the one I freak out on but he can handle me. That is why I love him so. Sometimes I am a pyscho jealous crazy when it comes to him and he understands, he is the same way with me. What I am trying to say that is I am sorry for my previous post. I do trust my husband, I guess I just lack trust in the rest of the male sex. Jonathon is a good man, the best man I know and he would never hurt me or his family. I am just a crazy biotch who blows things way out of proportion. But really, I think it is completely reasonable for me to get a phone call every night. As a wife that is my right...

Sometimes it really sucks to be married to a chef. The long hours he works are ridiculous and the pay doesn't stack up. The jealousy also wreaks havoc on a chef's wife. An example of this would be my evening last night continuing into the morn. So the chef is at work last night and I am home with the baby and the dogs. We have an early night, take a bath, watch some TV. The chef usually calls me around 11 to let me know when he will be home. Sometimes I am awake to take his call, sometimes exhaustion gets the best of me and I crash. Last night, I crashed. So I never heard from him. This morning I wake up to my baby boy talking and crying, telling me to come get him. I get up and reach for my phone. Looks like the chef didn't call me last night. Hmmm, wonder when he got home? Nonchalantly, I ask him the time of his arrival. He says about 1.30 (way later than usual), I ask him why so late and he says he was talking about the restaurant to his sous chef and the FOH manager. Whatever at this point I don't care. A few minutes pass and his cell beeps with a text. I grab it and look. His brother is in the city, wants to meet. Great, all good. Then his phone goes back to all his texts and I see one particularly interesting text from his sous. This text is incriminating and leads me to believe that he was not only talking to his boys but also to a lady, who apparently 'wants his c@#k.' Well being the crazy jealous wife I am, I immediately confront him. He has no answer and is like 'what did the text say, I never saw it.' Whatever. This has happened more than once, I let him know. I then tell him that if the tables were turned he would be just as mad. Well after I say what I feel I have to say, he replies and says 'the bartender was telling a stupid story and no one was listening.' REALLY? That is your response to me about a text from your sous that says some girl 'wants your c@$k.' Awesome. I really trust you.

Honestly I hate my dogs. I know my previous post was cutesy and loving toward them both but I can't stand them. They are such a-holes when I walk them. I think that the one thing I despise about being a stay at home mom is walking the dogs and the baby multiple times daily. It blows. First off, Potato is a pitbull and pitbulls pull. They pull hard. Sometimes I have to use my entire body to hold onto him. Second, Vito hates dogs and is such a mean jerk to them. He has a Napolean complex and it shines when he is confronted with another canine. Third, while holding on to both dogs, I am also pushing the stroller with the baby in it. Pretty sweet deal, right? No. It sucks. I just took all three of them out and it was not a cool experience. What made it really bad was after I got done taking the two dogs, baby, and stroller down the flight of stairs, we walked out of the building and were gretting by a foo-foo dog and it's hipster chick owners. Vito went into attack mode, Potato started pulling, I started swearing, and the two chicks said 'must be tough, two dogs & a baby.' Bitches.

Ever since Catcher was born Potato has outright ignored him. We have never had any issues with the dogs and the baby so Potato ignoring him works for us. Vito is a different story. Vito loves all babies especially Catcher with all heart. If we go to the park and there are babies or kids, Vito is immediately drawn to them. He adores them. He wants to give them kisses and cuddle with them. One may think that this gesture coming from a dog who HATES all other dogs except Potato, is pretty darn amazing. It's not. The real reason Vito loves and adores little people is food. His tiny little brain has absorbed the fact that kids and babies alike are always dropping/throwing food on the ground. So in his devious little mind, he figured that befriending children=human food. God damn he's smart.

I'm baaaaack! Sorry about my lack of posting. I started this blog with hopes and dreams of becoming a real writer, however that has been looking somewhat bleak. It is just so much easier to keep up with posting on my son's website, Catcher Crazy Face. I love doing his blog, it's just that I need my own outlet. Moving back to New York really took it's toll on me and the best thing for me to do is let it all out. As of today I am doing well. Jonathon had the day off yesterday and his mom was in town so we decided to show her the great spoils of Coney Island. We packed up Catcher and headed off on the BQE in search of the Cyclone, Tottono's Pizza, Nathan's Hot Dogs, & the super dirty ocean. First we went for pizza at a place that the great Mario Batali recommended to my husband. It was good, definately in my top 5, however didn't even come close to Franny's(the best pizza in America). After the pizza we headed on to the beach. I am pretty sure Jon's mom was freaked out. Coming from the midwest, no matter how urban & cosmopolitan you think you may be, Coney Island can be inetense. The poverty and the ridiculous amount of pregnant teens can really knock a person on their ass. Aside from that the day kept on at a pretty good pace. We went to the beach, Catcher played in the sand while I hovered over trying to pick up glass before he could grab it. We took him in the ocean very briefly, because the massive amount of oil in the water really made me fell dirty. Coney Island beach is crazy, as we were leaving catcher and I went into the women's bathroom and the attendant was smoking a cigarette. I couldn't even believe it, I mean New York is such an anti-smoking state, how the hell is the Parks & Recreation worker going be smoking a fag inside a women's restroom filled to the brim with little kids. Amazing. I think after that uber white trash experience, the fam was ready to head home, but not without riding the Cyclone...

Yesterday the Chef had the day off. He thought he would surprise me and not tell me until the morning but he couldn't do it. So we woke up and lounged and then realized that we couldn't really go anywhere because it was 100 degrees in Brooklyn and the baby doesn't do so well in those kind of temps. So after about an hour of watching cooking shows (his pick) I got restless as did the babe. So we decided to brave the global warming temps and go out to lunch. For some reason I got in a mood. I don't know if it was the heat or what but I was being a megabitch to my handsome hubby. I think the real reason for my 'tude is because one day when he has a day off I would just love for him to offer to watch the boy all day and let me do my own thing. I guess I just resent him when he is home. Everything is so easy with Catcher. Anywho, I think he got to see more of how it really is being stay at home. When we went to eat, Catcher was sooooo bad. We went to BarTabac in Carroll Gardens and the baby was not having it. He kept climbing out of his hi-chair and knocking everything off the table. So bad. So I gave full control to Jon. Here you go buddy Mr. High Pitched Screamer is all yours. And after that he was perfect. Of course, perfect for daddy, devil for mommy. I love the little guy but sometimes....

The pic above is from a James Beard event that I got to go to with Chef Jonathon called
Chefs & Champagne.

I started this blog and then a bunch of shit went down. In order to make an extremely long story short I have compiled a list of the most important happenings.

1. We had a house fire. Our stove and hood vent caught on fire. Everyone is ok but there is a lot of damage and our landlord is being a complete prick.
2. The hubs NYTimes review came out. You can view it here.
3. The restaurant opened for lunch and I have seen my man an average of 40 minutes a day. I have recently become extremely depressed and I blame this on my lack of contact with the man I love.
4. The boy turned 1!!! We tried to go to the Brooklyn Children's Museum however we got very very lost and ended up in the ghetto.
5. We went to the Jersey Shore. The boy had sooo much fun although I think he would have had more if the dogs were aloud to come.
6. We finally got the fire report which of course blames me as the cause of the fire. Not quite sure how that works since the stove and hood caught on fire with no warning or cause whatsoever. Crazy.
7. We got in trouble for leaving our toilitries at the house we were staying at the shore, Really???? C'mon now.
8. I went back to Cleveland with the boy to finish up on some wedding stuff, have my bachelorette party & bridal shower and to get away from the city. The boy and I went to the pool quite a few times and even bought a baby pool that we lounged in. Very nice.
9. I came back to NYC only to find that my man has still not gotten a raise but looks even better than I remember.
10. Realized that I don't really care for going out to bars anymore, especially till 3 am. My bachelorette party was fun but I could have easily gone home after sushi.